FILE – In this May 8, 2019, file photo, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner being built for Turkish Airlines takes off on a test flight in Renton, Wash. Boeing says it has finished with its updates to the flight-control software implicated in two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max, moving a step closer to getting the plane back in the sky. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

CAPE TOWN – Boeing says it has updated the software for its 737 Max aircraft.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Boeing said it had flown 207 flights with the updated software and was now engaging the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States to provide it with further details before scheduling its first certification test flight.

“With safety as our clear priority, we have completed all of the engineering test flights for the software update and are preparing for the final certification flight,” Boeing chairman Dennis Muilenbur said.

“We’re committed to providing the FAA and global regulators all the information they need, and to getting it right. We’re making clear and steady progress and are confident that the 737 MAX with updated MCAS software will be one of the safest airplanes ever to fly. The accidents have only intensified our commitment to our values, including safety, quality and integrity, because we know lives depend on what we do.”

All 737 Max aircraft were grounded following two deadly crashes in the space of a few months. Last October, 189 people died when a Lion Air plane crashed in Indonesia. In March, 157 people were killed when an Ethiopian Arlines plane crashed shortly after take-off.